Merry Christmas: 5 months!

You probably noticed that Isaac's fourth month update is absent. As you may know, the Number 4 is bad luck in Chinese culture because 4 sounds very similar to "die". Often when people go to a restaurant with a party of 4 they will tell the maitre'd that they have "3 plus 1" instead of "4".

That would be a great reason if I were superstitious. But the truth is, I just got busy and the blog kept getting postponed. So now we have a 4 and 5 month update.

Here's the quick summary for those of you who want to skip the details: Isaac is bigger and more mobile.

Isaac loves bathtime! Here's a pic after the reverie- see contentment written all over his face?


He can lift his head pretty well now and actually plays with toys now! He's a busy boy now with his hands, with a penchant for swiping at our plates during dinner.




Speaking of dinner, below is a picture of Isaac joining us for a dinner one night when he wouldn't let us put him down. This is a BUMBO seat that he is sitting in. It was recently recalled for new safety instructions (i.e., do not use unattended, on a bed or a chair) because kids had been injured through falls off it. As one friend said, "They should recall the parents." NOTE: Isaac was continually supervised while sitting on our table.




Since I started back at work 3 days in November, Isaac has a nanny that comes to watch him those days. Bo is great at getting him to take naps and she sings a lot to him in Chinese.


Over Thanksgiving we went back to Arlington, VA so we could see family/friends and introduce Isaac to them. He did great on the trip down since we drove during his bedtime, but was not so pleased with the very slow 7 hour trip back to NYC which started Sunday afternoon.

Here are pics of the visit with friends- a few are pics not from the visit (including one of a "blowout" for those of you who have never witnessed one)



Here are pics of Thanksgiving day with Dan's family. Isaac got to meet his second cousin, Samantha, from whom he has inherited A LOT of great stuff.


Unfortunately, Isaac got a cold early December which developed into bronchiolitis which was quite scary for us. He was wheezing, coughing and having a hard time breathing. Thankfully, our pediatrician saw us after hours and loaned us a nebulizer to use overnight, saving us a trip to the ER. Here's a pic of him wearing the nebulizer mask.


My parents and sister came in December and we celebrated my mom's 60th birthday. Of course, everyone was really here to see Isaac.




Isaac continues to explore NYC, including one really late night in the subway where we waited and waited for the train. At least I got a few good shots.




Finally, Isaac still hangs out with his buds, Mathias and Hudson (though from the pics they really dislike sharing a seat with each other).


And amidst all the boys in our baby group, there's also this cute girl named Riley. See the boys looking at her already, could be trouble ahead...

Baby Snowflake!